The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Tire pressure

I have installed LT215/85R16 tires on my '50 3600 and wondering what others are running for tire pressure.

I can increase pressures if/when I actual load up the truck but for general empty box driving I think I may be running higher than needed (45-47 psi).

I suspect that the answers may vary a lot but don't let that stop you from letting me know what you are running.

What is the recommended tire pressure printed on the tire?

What I do with my F250 is adjust tire pressure whether loaded or unloaded (camper or sailboat fuel). I have weighed it in both conditions then use the LOAD/INFLATION TABLE (tire brand doesn't matter, just the size.)

Unfortunately the load inflation table doesn't list that size tire.

I have that size on the Packard. I keep them at 36psi. The car weighs about 3500 lbs

Time for a check with the optometrist, Otto?
Look at the bottom of this screenshot from what I linked.

With a full load of sailboat fuel in my 2500HD crew cab 8 ft. bed 4x4, and nothing else in the truck, it weighs 7100-7200 lbs. I try to run 60-65 psi in the E rated tires. The C rated tires could be run around 35 psi as long as you keep an eye on the wear pattern.

I guess you're right. I looked at that up and down at least 3 times and didn't see it.

I just saw what I did. I didn't go far enough to see the LT chart and was looking at the P series chart.

Thank you all for the input. I need to weigh the truck to determine where I fit on Kevin's chart.

I believe the tires only have the maximum tire pressure identified but I can double check.

For now I will stay with the 45-47 psi that I have them at. I suspect lower pressure may ride a little better but at the expense of steering effort.

I have wrestled with tire pressure calculations for a while.
having DB Auburn 650x16 radials info I find is not specific. Max pressure on tire is 51 psi
Being P tires on a truck max load is divided by 1.1 so 2040lb max tire load is now 1854
46 shortbed online manual shows front curb weight 1670lb, rear curb is 1425lb,
Divide front load by 2 puts 835lb on each front tire, well within capacity, so waddaeye run for pressure? Diamondback guide won’t say specifically but says 35 psi is a good place (whatever that means, I guess watch wear pattern and for scuffing).
The online calculators are more than useless, enter rated max load, max rated psi and weight they spit out a 23psi output….yea right.
Right now I run the 35 front and rear 32 unless in loading it, not exactly wag but certainly not scientific.

If you can't get load/inflation data, go with the chalk mark procedure (chalk across the tread, then move the truck to check whether the pattern is even - chalk left on the outside of the tread means overinflated for the load, and chalk left on the inside means underinflated.) Under-inflation is way worse than over-inflation - you probably recall the Ford Exploder episodes.
Yes, tires will only have max inflation pressure on the sidewall markings.
As I'm recalling, 32-35 psi was the "standard" tire pressure back in the day. That's what I used on my '51 with 650-16 tires. It steers OK and not a terrible ride.

I’ll try the chalk just because I can, the manual for the truck iirc manual calls for 36 to 38, but that is for 6 or 8 ply bias, not 2 ply P radials.will say my tires wear looks fine, but that is right up to until it’s too late, it handles fine though so I’m not chasing a issue.

Chuck

I run P-metric's on my '37, no loads, just empty bed, total weight around 3400 split even front to back. Front tires 205/75 R15 set to 30psi, rear 235/75 R15 set to 28 psi, it rides good with the lower pressures. I keep the fronts a little higher to help low speed turning, but out on the road 28 psi front works just as well.

Load E will ride rough no matter how much air the have. We run a lot of them at work on school buses, the side walls are thicker then my P-metric tread!

Here is a simple inflation chart.

Thank you for the additional input.